Ha Nasih Hakatan

Type: Cafe Restaurant
Address: 3 Simta Plonit st. (Plonit alley)

"The Little Prince" cafe is was a cosy cafe-bookstore where you can sit and relax, read books, trade books, and basically do your things tranquilly.

Unfortunately, in Dec. 2010 The Little Prince cafe was closed. If you had the chance to visit there, you surely had a great time. We just hope that another cute spot like that will open in the future.

UPDATE: So HaNasaih Hakatan was closed down but now opened again on 18th Nachalat Binyamin st.! Good news!

New phone number of the place is 03-6299387
You can find the location here: http://g.co/maps/kat89

In the next opportunity we will check again the place. We left the picture above just to have a memory of the old place :)

Philippe Pizza

Type: French Pizza
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 47 NIS small pizza/ 76 NIS big pizza
Address: 20 Carlebach st. (next to Iben Gvirol)
Tel. number: 03-5100904

Philippe Pizzeria is a new concept of gourmet pizza parlour, beautifully designed and well located in the Carlebach, Laskov and Ibn Gvirol st. area, near the bars and night clubs. Philippe's pizza menu, which is labeled as "French" has 2 dozens kind of pizzas (including specials written on the chalkboard behind the counter) which are topped with different ingredients, ranging from vegs, cheeses, to pork, beef, mutton, goose and fish, including salmon. The innovative idea behind Philippe Pizza is - it's all charcoal grilled pizza (and as a an evidence you can see the stumps along the wall which are being used by guests for short reviews).

We took the Moussaka pizza, which is topped with a great beef and mutton layer, and served with an eggplant and rocket salad on it (inspired by the Moussaka from the Balkan). The second one we took was the Oriental pizza, which is supposed to have a spicy flavor, with Merguez sausages. This one was a bit disappointing and too regular, but still good.

How to get there
To reach Philippe Pizza you'll have to walk to the beginning of Iben Gvirol st., where it intersects with Carlebach and Laskov.

Click here to view location on the map and walking directions from Dizengoff st. 

Cantina

Type: Italian Restaurant
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 60-70 NIS
Address: 71 Rothschild st.
Tel. number: 03-6205051

Cantina ('winery' in Italian) blends in perfectly with the liveliness of Rothschild Boulevard. The balcony of the restaurant is by far more crowded and laid back than the indoor more pretentious atmosphere. But who want to miss all the action on Rothschild and sit inside?! Anyway, it's very much recommended to make reservations beforehand because is popular as hell.

Cantina restaurant's menu offers mainly pasta, but they also have a couple of pizzas. Some meat and seafood dishes. They also have some small salads side dishes.

In general, the food is good but it was absolutely NOT what we expected considering the popularity, price and design of the place. Anyway, we did enjoy the spicey spaghetti with mullet filet - Delizioso! A second runner up would be the tagliatelle with asparagus and shrimps. We also tried the portobello with penne, but it didn't rock our world. In short, Cantina is a great one time experience especially if you are in the neighbourhood or if you want to impress your date. But for the better and more affordable Italian food, we are sticking to Pappa's.

How to get there
Go on Rothschild towards south. It is next to Mazeh st.

Abu Marwan

Type: Hummus, Middle Eastern
English Menu: No
Average price: 25 NIS
Address: 129 Yeffet st, Jaffa

What a fine local Hummus place this Abu Marwan, which can be noticed by its  constant smoke coming from the grill/ bbq making skewers and eggplants.

Abu Marwan has an "all included" deal - you pay 25 NIS and get a yummy hummus plate, great fries, mini falafel balls and a (mediocre) salad. The result is a fine lunch which leaves you with a great taste.
But we couldn't stop just here. It is a must (!) to take the specialty - grilled eggplant with tehina and lemon (20 NIS), which adds a pungent flavor. In addition you can also order chicken skewers (around 15 NIS per skewer), which aren't fantastic, but just OK.
Finish the Hummus tour sweetly with the nearby Mutran.

How to get there
It's a bit messy, but you'll make it:
Take bus 25 towards Jaffa/ Yafo, go down at the fifth station on Sderot Yerushalaim (at no. 134). Go a bit backwards and take left at Bat Ayin st. Go up straight until you hit a main street, Yefet. Go straight until you see the smoke.

Mutran sweets

Type: Sweets, Middle Eastern
English Menu: No need
Average price: 20 NIS
Address: 99 Yefet st. in Jaffa

Mutran sweets is one of the best places to try Arabic sweets delicacies. In the store there are dozens of different cookies and other sweet treat, neatly arranged for you to pick and enjoy at home.

In case you feel like trying out the sweets there, Mutran also has a cozy and air-conditioned space where you can sit and enjoy one of their treats. Recommended very much is the sweet and savoury knafe, crunchy angel hair noodles covering goat cheese inside, served warm. The malabi is also one of the best in Jaffa. The tea and coffee are a bit pricy there, though usually extremely fit the desserts.
How to get there
It's a bit messy, but you'll make it:
Take bus 25 towards Jaffa/ Yafo, go down at the fifth station on Sderot Yerushalaim (at no. 134). Go a bit backwards and take left at Bat Ayin st. Go up straight till you hit a main street, Yefet. There take left, and it should be on your left.

* Note: The coffee and tea are not for free.

Shine

Type: Cafe Restaurant
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 35-50 NIS
Address: 38 Shlomo Hamelekh st.

Young, hip, single and artistic Tel Avivians love to come to Shine to hang out, meet new interesting people or to have brainstorm sessions for work. It's tucked away in a quiet street, just perfect if you want to escape the bustling streets near the center but don't want to wander off too far away from it.

Except for the usual coffee, alcohol and other beverages, Shine also has a really good and healthy menu. The vegetarians enjoy the salads very much, but also the tofu curry with vegetables and wild rice. The curry has a delicate creamy flavor and they use a special version of tofu, named tempeh. Also the risotto with seafood is quite tasty. The risotto isn't the creamy version, instead it's savoury and made with a great broth of seafood and it has small shrimps and calamari mixed through it. The portions of each dish are quite big and can be easily shared, if you're both not big eaters.

How to get there
Walk on Dizengoff and turn right (facing north) to Frishman st. Go straight till the corner with Shlomo Hamelekh st.

Gilad and Daniel

Type: French Bistro
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 30 NIS (desserts)
Address: 300 Dizengoff st.

Gilad and Daniel is a cozy french bistro located in a quiet location on Dizengoff. It's famous for its special tarte tatin, which comes with apples or pears. Indeed a great treat! The tarte tatin is absolutely the best in Tel Aviv (runner up - Goocha's).

Also the creme brulee is wickedly good. This one can be topped only by the brulee of Dubnov 8.

Although we initially only went to Gilad ve Daniel for desserts, we found out that their Lyonnaise chicken with rice is to die for! The delicately grilled chicken breast is laid on a bed of luscious cream sauce with mushrooms, spring onions and chives. Wow!

How to get there
Go north on Dizengoff. It's close to the intersection with Yirmiyahu st. (Bus no. 5 can drop you on Nordau st. where from you can keep on going north).

Pappa's

Type: Italian
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 50 NIS
Address: 12 Hillel Hazaken st.
Tel. number: 03-5107373 (Delivery - Exten. 1)

We are happy to announce that we think we found one of the best Italian restaurants in Tel Aviv. With the great atmosphere, design and old music in the air, and of course the great food, you are heading towards a great meal and a unique sense of Italy.

As for any Italian place, Pappa's offers amazing

pastas and pizzas. We ordered (in the two times that we have been here) the artichoke campanelli pasta, which is a superb dish with sour-savoury flavors given by the special sauce and the artichokes. We also tried the bolognaise and the linguini del mara, which tasted wonderful and were quite filling. The pizza with pepperoni and cheese is

great, we thought it was just a perfect pizza (see the mouthwatering pics).

They also have a surf and turf menu and couple of starters, of which we took the salad with feta cheese (not that worth it) and great risotto balls with yummy mushy roasted eggplant inside (very much worth it).

As dessert we tried the tiramisu, which had good creamy texture, yet the expected pungent taste of the liquor and espresso was missing.

How to get there
Hillel Hazaken st. can be reached from Allenby. On the side of the market, turn right at the second st. after the market (heading south), at Najara st. Pappa's should be right on the corner, next to the gas station.

Walking directions on the map from Dizengoff Center.

Meatbar

Type: Restaurant, Steakhouse
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 50-120 NIS
Address: 52 Sderot Chen (Chen Blvd.)

Meatbar is an expensive steakhouse in Tel Aviv. Unfortunately, we managed to order only the burger, which was great. The juicyness of the minced meat made the bun a bit soggy, but it did add up to the flavor of the whole burger. The burger comes with a fries or fried cauliflower. We were a bit disappointed from the fries, which reminded us of McDonalds' fries, but we liked the fried cauliflower a lot - also recommended as a plain side dish.

And according to the rumours in town, the steaks are also supposed to be great (starting price of 120 NIS). Meatbar offers a wide variety of other meat dishes, such as spareribs, sausages, pork and chicken.

How to get there
Located at the end of Sderot Chen, on the side that intersects with Frishman.

Cafe Noir

Type: French, Bistro
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 75 NIS
Address: 43 Ehad Ha'am st.
Tel. number: 03-5663018

Cafe Noir is a poshy French Bistro hosting three types of menus: breakfast, lunch and dinner (well, the lunch menu is in some way just a cheaper version of the dinner menu). The interior design is warm and nice (except for the "balcony" which lacks any atmosphere in the winter, when they seclude it with the glass wall). The service is also warm and friendly.

The menu varies from various schnitzels (which are considered to be great here) to fish and entrecote. We took the spring chicken on the grill, which was one of the best we've eaten. We also took the mullet fish on linguini, which was absolutely flavorsome and filling (yet we were a bit disappointed when the mentioned artichokes were missing in the dish - the waitress got us some though). The pricey menu prevented us from ordering some appetizers as well, but maybe next time. It's definitely a place worth going again! Cafe Noir telephone number for reservations: 03-5663018.

How to get there
By waking on Rothschild, go upwards on Nahamni st., towards Ahad Ha'am st. It should be right at the corner.